Can an investment seek a financial return while also helping create a measurable positive impact?
That is the idea behind impact investing.
Impact investing refers to investments made with the intention of generating positive, measurable social or environmental outcomes alongside a financial return.
Unlike traditional philanthropy, impact investing is still investing. Capital is placed into businesses, projects, funds and real-world assets with the expectation of generating financial value.
The difference is that investors are also considering what their capital helps accomplish.
In the environmental economy, that can mean financing:
• Renewable energy and energy infrastructure
• Sustainable and regenerative agriculture
• Water infrastructure and conservation
• Sustainable forestry and ecosystem restoration
• Recycling and the circular economy
• Carbon reduction and removal solutions
• Green buildings and sustainable real estate
• Environmental and climate technologies
For example, an investment in a water infrastructure project might seek financial returns while expanding access to cleaner or more efficient water systems.
An investment in sustainable agriculture might generate income from productive farmland while supporting practices designed to improve soil health, conserve water or reduce environmental impact.
An investment in environmental technology might provide growth capital to a company developing a solution that helps industries operate more efficiently and sustainably.
The common thread is intentionality.
Impact is not simply a side effect of the investment. It is part of the investment objective—and, ideally, something that can be measured and reported.
As environmental challenges create demand for new technologies, infrastructure and solutions, impact investing is helping connect two important groups:
Investors looking for opportunity.
Innovators and projects looking for capital.
Bringing those two worlds together is part of what Ecolence is being built to do.
Ecolence
The Global Platform for Environmental & Impact Investments
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